Dawn's Post for Week 5: Staying Green

After reading month five titled, "Waste" that encouraged readers to become Greene through growing gardens, reducing waste, and recycling I realized that we've been green for awhile. We definitely can be greener but I feel pretty good about where I am with this one and after talking with Heather she and I felt that we could read, reflect, and consider ways to reduce our carbon footprint. We both have gardens. We expanded ours this year to include tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, corn, okra, eggplant, bell peppers, jalepenos, banana peppers, watermelon, cantaloupe, blackberries, blueberries, green beans, Lima beans, and crowder peas. It's a lot of work but I really do love it for many reasons. One it gives us a family work project. Everyone helps. The girls help weed and water. Eli loves to pick the vegetables and check on their progress every day.  We eat what we pick fresh and what's left we can, putting up salsa and tomatoes, pickles, and jam lines up in jars on our shelves in the garage. We freeze gallon bags of corn, squash, and zucchini as well as bags of strawberries we pick at a farm right up he road. We have nine chickens we keep in a coop in the backyard we call the ladies parlor that yields fresh eggs each day and free fertilizer. We give what we don't keep away to neighbors and friends and family and are grateful for the fruit and the harvest. I married an environmental engineer who loves the outdoors so we rinse out and recycle as much paper, plastic, and aluminum that we can. I have to say there are times that I forget or get lazy and toss and I feel guilty for it. I'm working on not taking the blessings of convenience for granted.

In Hatmaker's book 7 she quotes a passage from a text that convicted her titled, Green Mama by Tracey Bianchi.  It convicted me too. It reads:  "there are a limited number of resources in the world, and when we take more than we need, simply put, we are stealing from others.  By pillaging the earth for more than our share, we break the 8th commandment. To my dismay, I realize that even in my own, sort of green-world , I was stealing from people, present and future. Turns out I constantly steal from my kids in years. I'm static goodies like clean air and water while millions of families clamor for a drink and struggle with disease.  I'm throwing away excess paper and packaging for rain forest disappear. I am a kleptomaniac. But I am determined to address my failings."

I am too. I don't want to waste my time feeling proud of what little I am doing for the environment. I want to proactively look for ways I can continue to reduce. Less of me, more of Christ. Less waste, more to enjoy His creation.

I know we are in the middle of a two week vacation but we are trying to apply good stewardship out here too.
On our trip west we opted for real dishes that we wash by hand in a bucket of sudsy water at the campsite instead of easier paper plates. This may be a little too crunchy for some, but my girls love it and have made a game of pretending to be Mary and Laura off of Little House who wash their dishes outside on the prairie too.
While we can certainly do better and live greener my hope is that we will stay green, going outdoors for our road trips both near and far, choosing to spend time in some of what nature offers us that may not be here forever, to admire God's handiwork, and most of all, to spend as much time as possible together as a family.

Media: Day 5 - "Take my advice..."

As I mentioned previously, I am thankful that my parents helped me realize at a young age that TV wasn't everything and kept it from scrambling my young mind. In that same vein, I'd like to mention some advice my aunt offered me on our recent family trip. She said, in regards to Rowan and with much experience under her belt, "Don't get him started on video games... They were a great babysitter, but now I regret it." (My paraphrase)
Spoken from a mom who has been there, who has seen the deleterious effects of "too much" on her child. She wishes she had been more firm in that area .

With the bombardment of screens of all shapes and sizes EVERYWHERE, it will be hard to keep Rowan away from it all the time;  but I shall take her advice and my parents' example to heart, and try my best to shield Rowan from all the time-suckers and mind-numbers. After all, discipline begins at home.

"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."
Proverbs 22:6

Media: Day 4 - Throw Away the Key

I am obviously very far behind here, but I will try to catch up.
My parents, sister, nephew, husband, son, and I went to Virginia over the weekend. We went to see all of my extended family - grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins - whom I hadn't seen in several years, and most of whom hadn't yet met Rowan. Aside from an annoying cold-like illness attacking my own little family, we had a wonderful time seeing everyone and catching up.

It is inevitable, on family trips like these, to look back and remember childhood memories. One such memory in regards to media resurfaced. Once upon a time my parents realized how much TV my sisters and I were watching and how it was affecting our chores, our attitudes, our schoolwork - you name it. So, they decided to take what my childhood self would consider drastic measures. Somehow my dad rigged our TV to only turn on with a key.
Yes, a key.
That fits in a lock.
I have no idea how he did it, but I do remember that magical key having a blue and gold Blockbuster key chain.

Once they fitted the television with a key, there was no way we could watch it without our parents knowing.  There was no way we could watch it without that darn key. My parents then proceeded to tell us we would only be allotted a certain amount of time each week to watch TV. We could choose to blow it all at once, or we could spread it out over the week, or we could simply choose not to watch it at all (yeah, right). Of course, our decision on when to watch was still subject to whether or not our parents would give us the key. It was ultimately their decision.
Being a first born and typically a rule-follower, I didn't struggle quite as much as my sisters in budgeting my TV time. I knew what and when my favorite shows were, so I saved my time for them. However, I learned some valuable lessons from that time too:
1) My parents are brilliant.
(Though the key trick probably wouldn't work on today's televisions)
2) A little patience goes a long way.
If I thought my favorite TV shows were really worth watching, then they were worth waiting for. This lesson has easily extended to all the important events in my later life, like money, marriage, children, career, faith, etc.
3) TV is a waste of time.
When constant screen time was taken away from me, it no longer held me hostage and it became more of a special treat rather than a "need." It's kind of like only having ice cream every once in awhile rather than every day. It makes it that much sweeter!

Thanks, Mom and Dad, for all of the 'key' lessons you taught me through the years. :D

Day 6 and 7 of Social Media - Pattern Change

As I reflect on the last two days of the social media challenge issued by Jen Hatmaker's book, 7 I felt that this one has hit the closet to home for me out of all of the first four weeks of this challenge.  I knew that I spent too much time scrolling and was craving more meaningful time spent especially with my children and with my husband.  It was moments of conviction but not enough time thoughtfully spent seeking a solution.

This past week with the reading of the chapter, consulting scripture, and the Holy Spirit's conviction on my heart I was able to move beyond conviction to repentance to turn from the mindless habit and turn my full attention towards things that mattered the most.

I couldn't quit cold turkey against all social media.  So much good comes out of being able to call a friend, send a prayer request, share in a productive way what Christ is doing in our lives... What I was called to do was to deeply consider the time spent, the purpose of the activity online, and the outcome...was it honoring God, was it productive, was it the Best Yes of my time and the time I spent away from those who depend on me?

If it was a no, it meant the phone had a place that wasn't attached to my hand, my mouth, or my body...it went in the basket.  This allowed me freedom from the pings of messages, emails unread, updates from news apps and target sales.  Freedom to think uninterrupted, to serve uninterrupted, to worship, and to live uninterrupted.  Funny thing was all that was breaking news, and a current urgent message survived the three to four hours I was away from the phone and it was in the basket.  I learned it will keep!

I am hoping these lessons learned this week will keep too.  I read awhile ago that it takes awhile for a new behavior to become a pattern and for a pattern to become a habit.  I've developed new behaviors with the basket and with boundaries and have kept the pattern for these last few days.  I'm praying now for a habit to form and my heart to be changed for the better.

Sincerely,
Dawn

Day 4 and 5 of Social Media - Making a Life Full of Meaning

These last two days have been spent loving my three children up and planning and preparing for Eli's 5th birthday party.  As a teacher I teach all year and during the month of June teach as an adjunct with the Spartanburg Writing Project at USC Upstate.  This makes July one of the sweetest months of the year.  Because it is short we work so hard to soak it up.  We make a summer bucket list every year of what we want to do when July and our summer arrives.

In one short week we 've caught fireflies and spent time at the water park.  We've slept in and snuggled together holding on tight to the sweet time between waking up and getting up that is one of summer's greatest gifts for moms and kids alike.  We've gone to the library and read books.  We've gone to eat at Chick Fil A and played on the playground.  We've worked together to pick the garden and make salsa and jam.  We've loved each other and this summer life with all we've had.

I know that there are weeks during the school year when the week flies by and I miss so much because I am doing so much - school, homework, driving to dance, baseball, piano.  There is time for a quick read aloud before bed, tuck in, and lights out.  We live for more than this.  Every July and December I am so thankful for the opportunity to consciously make a life full of meaning.  We live a lifetime in these weeks and by praying over our summer bucket list and consciously making decisions for how to make this time meaningful with what we want to do most and what matters most we enjoy it the most.

With this week focusing on social media I've been more and more convicted and convinced that we don't need more, we need a vision of what is best.

So thankful for this week!

Sincerely,
Dawn